Why Examine Your Dog's Vomit?

I get that nobody likes playing with puke. But if your dog does throw up, examining what came out can be quite useful. There is a great article by Dr. Coates on What's in the Vomit.

But they were so nice and chewy ...

And for a fresh real life example?

Cookie's leg had been sore off and on (more on that later) and our vet recommended giving Tylenol for the time being. I was not all that thrilled with the idea, but yesterday there was a good reason to give some.

I gave her one yesterday afternoon and one in the morning.

Cookie threw up few hours later.

First thing I'd suspect was the Tylenol. But I decided to examine the vomit anyway. At first glance it just looked like thick chyme kind of thing.

Close scrutiny, though, revealed small pieces of wood! That paints a different picture, doesn't it?

Cookie does have a tendency to chew on whatever happens to be near by, which happens to include sticks and wood chips. We were watching her and trying to prevent her from actually eating any of that.

Clearly, somehow she sneaked some by us anyway.

In her defense, Bruin and JD used to to the same thing and quite regularly would throw up a pile of wood pieces after a day at the farm. (one of the main reasons we got insurance for JD) One can watch them only so much.

JD stopped doing that, hopefully, Cookie will too before it bites her in the rear end.

She's looking good and eating and pooping normally, so I'm hoping she threw up all that didn't belong into the system.

It's always a good idea to examine the puke.

Cookie, honey, please stop eating sticks.

Saran wrap pieces extracted from vomit.

When JD threw up the other day, I went to examine the vomit as usually, looking for pieces of wood. It all seemed quite normal, except for some strips which seemed like strips of chicken but were so strong that couldn't be pulled apart. When washed and "unwrapped" it turned out to be saran wrap.

Little rocks found in vomit.

The vomit containing these rocks looked quite inconspicuous too. (the coin was added for scale)

***

Related articles:
From The End Of A Lead Line To Casa Jasmine: Meet Cookie, Our New Adoptee
And So It Begins Again(?) Our First Health-Related Heart Attack With Cookie 
I Didn't Know I Could Fly: Why Cookie Wears A Harness Instead Of A Collar
C.E.T. Oral Hygiene Chews For Dogs CAN Be A Choking Hazzard 
Our First Health-Related Heart Attack With Cookie: The Knee Or The Foot? 
Creative Solutions And An Incidental Product Review
Too Young For Pot: Cookie's Snack With A Side Of Hydrogen Peroxide  
Taming Of The Wild Beast: Cookie's Transition To Civilization  
Staying On Top Of The Ears: Cookie Is Not Impressed  
Putting The Easy Back Into Walking
Cookie's Ears Are Still Not Happy 
The Threat Of The Bulge Is Always Lurking 
Today Is Cookie's Three-Months Adoptoversary  
Cookie Meets The Electric Horse Fence And Her First Chiropractic Adjustment 

What's in the Vomit?
Causes of Vomiting in Dogs
Vomiting in Dogs: Is He Actually Vomiting?
Vomiting Versus Regurgitation
The Story Of Flossy And The Mystery Vomiting

Comments

  1. Examining vomit has showed us so many things - we know that Rodrigo swallows the squeakers and we have to take care in the raw bones we give to our dogs (knuckle bones only).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very educational, isn't it? I bet many people wish you could learn the same from a textbook instead ;-)

      Delete
  2. My mom always looks at my vomit. It's mostly grass I have been vomiting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you do that often? Do you vomit every time you eat grass?

      Delete

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